$500K Grant To Fund Rehabilitation Of Washington Crossing Landmark

WASHINGTON CROSSING, PA — A Washington Crossing landmark will be rehabilitated under a $502,768 grant awarded to the Friends of Washington Crossing Park by the National Park Service.

The grant will allow the park to continue renovations at the McConkey Ferry Inn above and beyond last year’s $8.7 million capital project which funded building renovations throughout the park, according to the Friends organization.

The new grant will bring the interior renovations up to museum standards and update the Inn’s National Register of Historic Places documentation.

“I appreciate the Friends of Washington Crossing Park for applying for this grant on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,” said park manager Mike Kuzar. “I look forward to working with the Friends and PDP Architects to restore this important building and the opportunity to share it with our park visitors in 2026.”

The Inn is one of only 20 cultural resource preservation projects funded nationally by the National Park Service through its Historic Preservation Fund. The fund is part of the National Park Service’s
Semiquincentennial Grant Program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

“The Semiquincentennial is an opportunity for the nation to recognize and reflect on the diverse cultures, events, and places that have helped shape our country,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “Through the Semiquincentennial Grant Program, the National Park
Service is supporting projects that showcase the many places and stories that contributed to the evolution of the American experience.”

The first tavern license was issued to Mary Matthews (or Mathis) in 1752 for the building in which she was living at the ferry. Only the basement kitchen of that building remains. The current inn was built in several stages; the west side was built around 1790 and includes the above-referenced basement.

The building represents a typical country inn or tavern of the Revolutionary era and suggests the variety of amenities that would have been available to the traveler at that time.

During the Continental Army’s stay in Bucks County in December 1776, the inn and the nearby ferry launch site were closely guarded by the troops. At McConkey’s Ferry on December 25, 1776, Washington wrote to Colonel Cadwalader, “I am determined as the night is favorable
to cross the river…”